Coach Xavi furious as Barcelona go down to shock defeat at Almeria
The Barça boss was fuming to miss the chance to go 10 clear of Real Madrid
Xavi was very angry after Barcelona lost 1-0 to Almeria and it was impossible for him to hide his disappointment.
"It's the worst game of the season, both in attack and defence, as well as in construction and intensity," he said on Movistar. "Nothing came out of it. We were very dull. Maybe fatigue has taken its toll on us. We played a bad game. I'm angry because it was an opportunity to go 10 points clear and we didn't take it."
The Barça coach was very blunt: "We are upset and we have to look for solutions now, because the decisive stretch in LaLiga and the Copa del Rey is coming and we can't slip up any more. It was a golden opportunity when Madrid drew and we played our worst game at the worst time of the season. We have to change the chip and the mentality from now on."
In the press conference, he maintained his discourse and even went further: "It makes me very angry, it was a day to strike a blow, not a definitive one, but an important one in LaLiga. We failed, we have no excuse, we didn't show intensity or desire to win, and that's what worries me the most.
"Then you can play better or worse. We can slip up, but in the first half we showed neither passion nor soul. We slipped up, we have to apologise to the fans. Today we couldn't slip up in any way, we missed a golden opportunity."
Xavi feels that "we have to play with passion, desire and enthusiasm to win this league, which we haven't won for three years. We have to do many more things. It's going to cost us, we're not going to win it on our own, we're competing against Real Madrid, Champions League and LaLiga champions."
Xavi explained that Barça "tried everything, we played with that 3-4-3, with Ronald Araujo up top, crossing from the wings, opening up for Ángel Alarcon, looking for Robert Lewandowski," but he acknowledged that "Almeria defended very well, we had chances with crosses, but not very clear ones. It wasn't a very good day for us. A bad day."
On the presence of Pablo Torre and Alarcón, he denied that there is no quality on the bench to react in adverse moments like Sunday's: "The youngsters are ready. Pablo is training very well, Ángel has the conditions to play and I have confidence in them. It was a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity."
